Infrastructure investment in Europe and the UK has entered a new phase. Project pipelines remain deep, but the primary bottleneck is now execution, rather than capital availability. Regulatory complexity, prolonged permitting, fragmented governance, delivery capacity constraints, and rising transaction costs are shaping deal outcomes more than ever before.

This shift is evident in market activity. European infrastructure deal volumes eased to 698 in 2025, down from 764 in 2024 and 856 in 2023, reflecting higher interest rates, elevated capital costs, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasingly restrictive planning and regulatory regimes. Yet the market continues to demonstrate selective momentum, with a number of mega deals approved throughout 2025.

In our latest paper, we discuss the three themes shaping the European infrastructure market in 2026: energy, data centres, and defence. We examine the structural tailwinds set to drive investment across these sectors, including the scaling of data-centre capacity, policy-supported grid expansion, and the massive surge in defence spending across the region.

We also look into the growing mismatch between capital availability and executable opportunity, and why, going forward, success will depend less on access to capital and more on disciplined project selection, strong governance, and delivery capability.

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